Are you a library person looking for interesting things to discuss on social media, to connect with your patrons? We all are! Check out this blog entry by Victoria Orzechowski wtih some great ideas for you.
“In my previous blog entry, I introduced the #NoFilter series which will explore some of the challenges and concerns pertaining to social media and its use in the library. For this post, let’s consider a topic that can be simultaneously fun and perplexing: generating quality content for social media! Thoughtful, consistent, and varied content is one of the keys to cultivating a meaningful social media presence for a library i.e., opening up channels of communication with patrons and encouraging enthusiasm for the library’s materials, services, and staff. Where does one look for social media content ideas? Keeping in mind that the intricacies of each platform necessitate different presentations in content, below are three suggestions for where those in charge of a library’s social media may find some inspiration.”
Does the idea of food and library talk together make you excessively happy??
Us too!!
One of the most frequent requests we have received from members is to have more opportunities to gather and talk informally. Many of you are alone in your libraries, and everyone likes to make connections across the system.
The days of libraries only checking out books have long passed. Libraries serve so many vital functions in their communities, and are open to learning from their patrons what types of services and programs would be most valuable. This has led to libraries checking out neck ties to job searchers (check out CMLE’s post on the subject) and now, to the Vancouver Public Library opening their Sun Life Financial Musical Instrument Lending Library.
This article from Public Libraries Online describes some of the instruments available (they are mainly stringed instruments and hand drums) like acoustic guitars, ukuleles, and bongos. The library hopes to gain more instruments to share with the public during their instrument drive.
The way it works is that a person can borrow one instrument at a time for 21 days, and if no one else has made a request for the instrument, they are able to renew their instrument up to two times. However, that opportunity won’t come for awhile – the article shares how only three days after the Vancouver Public Library launched the Instrument Lending Library, every instrument was checked out, with a wait list of up to 70 patrons for some instruments! Hopefully the instrument drive is successful and the library will be able to acquire more instruments to share with the public.
People generally think of librarians and other library folk as mild-mannered, maybe even reserved, people that are passionate about books, learning, and information in general. But historically, libraries used to be a source of high competition and conflict!
This article from Atlas Obscura details how several dynasties in the ancient world had a constant rivalry with each other over which kingdom had the best library collection. The biggest competition was between the libraries of Alexandria and Pergamum (located in present-day Turkey). Kings poured their resources into preserving Greek culture and promoting scholarship, as well as acquiring ancient texts and writings to make their collections more valuable.
Of course, new ideas and interpretations of readings were important to keep libraries current and thriving. The article describes how competition to attract and keep scholars in libraries grew so fierce that the treatment of scholars became similar to today’s world of professional athletes: “Much like how athletes are drafted to rival teams in today’s sports, libraries “attracted scholars by offering one better wages than the other kings.” Sometimes, the kings took it a step further and actually put scholars in prison so they couldn’t take their intellectual pursuits to a different kingdom.
Today’s libraries may not have quite the same level of competition with each other, but they continue to be essential institutions in society, possibly because their value was discovered and preserved to such an extent in the ancient world.
The stereotypical animal that is often associated with libraries (and librarians!) is the cat. And here at CMLE, we definitely love cats. But dogs can be even more helpful when it comes to libraries, and reading in general, especially when it comes to teaching literacy to kids.
This adorable Tweet sparked our curiosity. Just how much do dogs help kids with their reading skills? We also wondered where else in our area might dogs be interacting with kids, students, books, and libraries?
First, we discovered just how helpful dogs can be when it comes to assisting kids with their reading skills. This article from Public Libraries Online shares research done that states, “Children who read to dogs improved their own reading skills in comparison to children who did not read to dogs, based on the results of the Oral Text Reading for Comprehension Test” and even “reported a greater enjoyment of reading than children who did not read to dogs.” When kids are able to practice their reading skills out loud to a patient, non-judgmental listener (like a dog!) their reading improves, and just as importantly, their love of reading grows!
For real-life inspiration, we found a few instances of dogs and kids enjoying reading together. This article from MN Women’s Press tells the story of Lesa Hobright-Turner and her READ dog, Murphy, and their impact on a little girl with ADHD. The Hibbing Daily Tribunefeatured this article about kids reading with dogs at Keewatin Elementary school. The Rochester Public Library has the program “Sit, Stay, Read” that takes place the fourth Monday of the month from September – November. Finally, the Two Harbor’s Public Library has a program “Read to a Dog” that takes place on Fridays, featuring Lucy the dog:
We’re sure there are more programs out there, and would love to hear about them! Do you know of, or participate in, any activity that features animals helping kids with their reading? Let us know!
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